NADAL TO TENNIS — ‘LET’S TRY SOME TIME APART’ – After looking flat and at times uninterested during the year-end Masters, Rafael Nadal says he is struggling with his motivation, despite muddling through to claim the Davis Cup for Spain: “I have lost a little passion for the game. I have been a bit more tired than usual…I have been very happy and had the right attitude to play. But to compete was different, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. We can find excuses, we can find problems, but I have not been happy about a few things this season. The end of the year has not been easy for me.” Nadal also responded to his reported rift with his coach/uncle Toni: “I don’t necessarily have to listen or take notice any more of what Toni says to me. I can make my own mind up now. Am I frustrated? That’s not the right word. In a career you come back or you go down. This is not my best moment and I need a lot of things to change. Small things, but these can change a lot of things at the end of the day.”

ETC.Daniela Hantuchova has shot a 2012 hot-ness calendar, with all the proceeds going to the House of Smile in Cambodia: “The photo shoot for the calendar was a lot of fun because we did it in Monte Carlo, where I live. The whole team was great once again and it was more fun than work, because we all knew it was for a great cause. All money from the calendar goes to the hospital in Cambodia where we are treating and taking care of orphans who are HIV positive. The improvement we have seen in their health the last few years has been incredible and it keeps us motivated to work even harder and help as much as we can.”…Robin Soderling missed the US Open with mono, and says he will also miss the 2012 Aussie Open…WTA World No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki did not reach a major final again this year. Just reminding…World No. 2 Petra Kvitova ended the year with a 12-match winning streak at the WTA Championships and Fed Cup. Was 6-1 in finals in 2011. Was 21-0 indoors. Just sayin’…Our pick for the 2012 Australian Open, you heard it here — Kim Clisjters…Maria Sharapova in 2012? With all the down time to rehab the shoulder, we like her too…Not that we’re the ones to talk about journalistic integrity, but shouldn’t journalists (major outlet(s) in the U.S.) who were paid by the WTA (tickets, hotel, etc.) to cover the WTA Championships note that in their stories they write covering the event?…The WTA made a donation of $25,000 to USANA Health Sciences’ “Ace Out Hunger” program, a charity that raises money for children around the world…Novak Djokovic during the year-end Masters: “You know, my body says that it’s overload. It has been too much this year. Obviously, mentally I feel a little bit drained. I just don’t have that freshness in my mind for the matches and I don’t have these dynamics that I had in all 10 months of the year. But this is something to be expected after the year that I had.” Djokovic added he would not play any events prior to the Aussie Open…Yannick Noah continues to say the media is a big part of the blame for doping issues in sports not being more prevalent: “There are side effects which you never read about on the front pages of the newspapers. We know there have been problems in the past with Italian footballers who are now seriously ill.”…ATP Player Council President Roger Federer is against a player strike in regards to the ATP calendar, and against a rankings system that takes into account two years of results as unfair to lower-ranked players: “It’s not been an option really, in my opinion,” Federer said of a player strike. “Next year’s season is going to be shortened by two weeks. That’s, I think, as much as we can squeeze it really because otherwise a lot of tournaments would have to go, or we would have four tournaments the same week, which I don’t think is a very smart idea, to be honest, for the game. It was brought up a few months ago, the whole boycott thing. It’s nonsense. It’s not going to happen any time soon. Things are good right now, so I don’t see a reason why we should just boycott. There’s absolutely no reason for it.”…Venus Williams beat little sister Serena in straight sets in an exhibition match in Medellin, Colombia…The search engine Bing says Maria Sharapova was the most-searched-for athlete on the web this year, followed by Tiger Woods, Serena Williams, Brett Favre, and Caroline Wozniacki…In what had to be a tough choice, the Danish Tennis Federation awarded Caroline Wozniacki with their country’s Player of the Year Award…When you’re on TV, those robbers know where you are — Swiss papers report that Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s house in Switzerland was robbed as he competed at the year-end ATP Masters event in London…China’s Li Na on her 2011: “Life has changed a lot. I knew after the French Open when I went back to China the fans would be crazy. I came back home and a lady (on the street) said, ‘Li Na, I know who you are, I need a photograph with you, an autograph.’ She spoke so loud and everyone heard it. More people were coming so me and my friend were full-power running to the car…[Coach] Thomas [Hogstedt], he was very different to Chinese coaches. He always gave me confidence. First time he was saying ‘You can be in the Top 20.’ I said ‘Are you joking?’ because I didn’t believe it — I never had a coach say I can be Top 20.”…Tennis writer Dick Evans on Richard Krajicek for the new ATP CEO: “Naturally, you need other assets, and the multilingual Krajicek has plenty. If the ATP board members get cold feet and start looking outside the game for another corporate figure, they will be making a serious mistake.”…World No. 1 Novak Djokovic reportedly has a brief role in the upcoming movie The Expendables 2…Ryan Harrison has signed on coach Grant Doyle, the former coach of Sam Querrey…Judy Murray named the new Fed Cup captain? Really? they do know Andy can’t play Fed Cup, right? Maybe in a dress? ‘This is my other daughter, Andrewetta, she’ll now be playing No. 1 for us’…Marat Safin was voted into the Russian Federal Parliament, the Duma, revealed a press release from the ATP Champions Tour. A member of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, Safin was elected into the Duma’s lower house as a representative for the Nyzhny Novgorod region, approximately 500k from Moscow. “I could go and make commercials left and right and pretend like I am a celebrity, but that is not me,” Safin said. “I never did this, I never liked it. I had a few months of thinking ‘Should I do this or should I not’ but now I am pretty sure of what I’m doing and I want to do it. This is a completely new life, a new way of thinking, new way of doing things that’s nothing to do with tennis or sports at all. But the two things definitely have one thing in common and that is that you need to have a character. You have to be strong and you have to know where you’re going, what you want to do, and you have to be able to make sacrifices. I will be working for the next five years day after day, sitting in an office, wearing a suit. I will have good days, bad days and I will have to fight once again like I’ve been fighting on the court. It will be complicated.” — Our over-under is he lasts 10 months…Caroline Wozniacki reportedly signed a one-year coaching deal with Ricardo Sanchez, former coach of Jelena Jankovic…Roger Federer is reportedly building a $17.5 million chalet complex in the Swiss Alps for his family and his parents, including all the super-modern amenities you can think of, and garage space for nine cars…According to tennisworldusa, “The mother of Italian tennis star, Flavia Pennetta has been sentenced to one year in prison. Pennetta’s mother, Concetta, was sentenced for an involuntary manslaughter charge stemming from a fuel explosion incident at the family’s farm. Pennetta and another man who worked on the farm were also ordered to pay 150,000 Euros to the victim’s family. Apparently, the victim died when two fuel trucks exploded at the farm while he was in one of them.”…We gotta agree with Roger Federer that the year-end Masters deserves a best-of-five final…The WTA granted a one-time waiver to Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka to play in the World Tennis Charity Invitational in Thailand on Jan. 1. Players are not usually allowed to compete in exhibitions during Premier-level tournament weeks, but the waiver was granted since all the proceeds from the event are going toward the victims of floods in Thailand. John Isner and Paradorn Srichaphan will also play in the exo…According to 10sballs.com, WTA players who compete at the Hopman Cup will be fined by the WTA, and the tournament will pay the fines…Spain’s Davis Cup triumph was tempered by Rafael Nadal’s announcement that he would not be available in 2012 since he will be focusing on the Olympics, and captain Al Costa says he might not return to lead the team as well…Roger Federer is sad — sad that it looks like the Madrid Masters event, run by nutbag Ion Tiriac, will change their claycourts to the color blue for 2012: “This is a long story, but I find it sad that you have to play on a surface the players don’t accept,” Federer told dpa. “I find it sad that a player like Rafa, at a tournament on his own country, has had to fight against a surface that does not want to play on. I would listen to Rafa on such an issue. It’s sad, yes, that we will play on a surface that is not accepted by all players.”…SI.com’s Bruce Jenkins has friends, and he and his friends don’t like the ATP year-end event: “A friend of mine named Steve Tignor, one of the better tennis writers in the country, follows both tours with a passion. He’s never short on a well-seasoned take, or the type of insight rarely found. But even this tennis nut has his limit. Pondering the appeal of the World Tour Finals, which concluded Sunday in London, he admitted on tennis.com, “I just want to get away from those people for a while.” No such luck. The theme song of the men’s tour should be that popular favorite, “How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away?” — Ah yes, Steve Tignor, whose “well-seasoned take(s)” included a lengthy diatribe back in the day on why Rafael Nadal would never become No. 1 in the world because of his ugly strokes. Jenkins final thought: “When Nadal admitted playing with “a little bit less passion for the game,” it spoke to an event that should go away — because it wouldn’t be missed.” — Yes, the storied ATP Masters event won’t be missed. Thankfully it will still be here when you’re retired. We’ve seen better insight on Bleacher Report…Alex Bogomolov Jr., the ex-husband of U.S. Playboy bunny Ashley Harkleroad, officially changed his nationality from American to Russia, and will represent Russia in international play…Spectators at an Italian exhibition got a shot of Williams sister boob when the strap on Venus’ top snapped during play…Russian Anna Chakvetadze, who made a foray into Russian politics after semi-retiring in 2010 due to varying illnesses, will apparently make a comeback in 2012 starting at the WTA Hobart event…Roger Federer says he is targeting the Davis Cup and Olympics in 2012, and says he will play Switzerland’s opening round (for the first time since 2004) when they host the U.S. on Feb. 10 in Fribourg, Switzerland.
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148 Comments for Tennis-X Notes: Nadal to Tennis — I Love You but Not IN Love with You

skeezerweezer Says:

“I don’t necessarily have to listen or take notice any more of what Toni says to me. I can make my own mind up now.”

Finally! Rafa is becoming his own man. Hope you dump the Unc ASAP and gain back the integrity the Rafa camp so well deserves. No more coach cheating from the seats, and no more hidden agenda mumbo jumbo talk about the status of your game. Once you get rid of the Unc Toni shield of double talk, you’ll get back quicker to #1. Fed didn’t have to have a coach to succeed, and, yes..he was that good….and so are you.

Rafa is…yes…really a class act. Best of luck Rafa in 2012. You’ll be getting the top spot sooner than you think with Unc toni gone, the man who claims he built Rafa….yeah…right.

If Nadal loses the mechanical single-mindedness that his uncle instilled in him through harsh discipline, he loses what made him a great player in the first place.

Nadal’s game depends on unthinking, relentless repetition. He plays every point with desperate intensity–as if failure would mean his very life. That monomaniacal mentality is undoubtedly the result of Uncle Toni’s training methods.

If he starts thinking more for himself, takes more of an interest in other areas of life, he may lose some of that relentlessness, and with it his edge over other players. He will be very good, yes, but no longer a top player.

Traveling around the world, meeting new people, being exposed to new experiences, and getting older must have opened his mind. He may be waking up to how much he missed out on, living an insular existence with his family, isolated from the larger world.

More than that, though, it’s probably losing so much to Djokovic that’s made him question himself. It used to be that if he just obeyed his Uncle without question and ran down every ball, he would come away with the trophy.

This year he’s done everything his Uncle told him to do, and it hasn’t made any difference. Djokovic beat him every time. No wonder he’s frustrated and chafing at the reins. For perhaps the first time in his life, the Bull has to reflect–and it’s a novel, somewhat uncomfortable experience.

As he grows as a person, he may diminish as a player. It’s sad that that may happen. But it’s a consequence of the way he plays tennis.

I suspect that Uncle Toni is displeased by these signs of rebellion, and will try to quash them. He needs his horse to win a few more prizes.

The sticking point is whether Nadal is willing to once again submit to his Uncle if it means he can win again. There’s a pretty good chance he will.

Personal development, or more trophies? Going for himself, or going for the gold? That’s the dilemma facing Nadal.

What’s with Russian players getting into politics? But good luck to them regardless. I’d venture that the first 10 months will be difficult for Safin, but if he passes this stage, I could actually see him liking his new job and sticking to it for years.

I agree with Roger about the season not being too long. The problem is that players play too many tournaments, even when they don’t have to. It’s also smart that he is building his new home for his parents as well. Here is a very family-oriented man, good for him!

As for Rafa, I disagree that breaking away from Tony is a good thing for Rafa, Skeezer. Where would Rafa be without Tony? Rafa needs to go back to his old pirate look, and reclaim that lost drive and energy he once had (not to mention that lethal backhand that he once had is now much weaker). Remember the pink shirt loss to Soderling? He’s never been the same since.

“Djokovic is really going to struggle the first six months of next year – he’s really knocked himself out…He’s just won so many matches, and it’s been pretty obvious, even at the US Open, he was struggling. I even thought he was struggling at Wimbledon against Bernard [Tomic], but he was able to pull himself together…He was very lucky to win the US Open, because Roger should never have lost that match from where he was. And now since the US Open, there’s injuries, a sore shoulder, a sore back, and when you watch him playing, he’s running on three cylinders, so I’d say that his body, it’s given in. It’s not a lot of time to suddenly suck it up and start the year again and defend everything that he won last year, so I think it will be a superhuman effort for him to repeat the six months that he had. It was an amazing run, and that is very hard to defend.”

“It’s not going to surprise me if, by the end of July next year, Roger is very close to being No.1 again.”

“With Rafa, it’s like the heavyweight champion of the world that’s never been knocked out, and suddenly, gets knocked out six times within the space of six months by Djokovic. He doesn’t have the same self-belief any more. All of a sudden he’s having to face things, questions, that he’s never doubted. So it’s a question of can he get his head around this whole thing, and come back to where he was?”

^ I guess because Nole and Rafa were both depleted at the WTF and in the last few tournaments everyone assumes that will carry into 2012. Most pundits say Fed and Murray will win a lot and rise next year. It is certainly possible. But I wouldn’t count out Nole or Rafa from the picture. Nole won’t defend everything, but he won’t drop out of contention either, unless he can’t serve due to shoulder issues, in which case the pundits would be right. Rafa, too, has a lot to defend early on (basically all finals or wins); however, he can gain at the AO potentially. Anyhow, we will see soon enough.

Bruce Jenkins’s shameless promotion of his “friends” gives me the impression that mainstream tennis writers (a) think they’re the most important thing in Tennis and (b) collude or parrot on the direction of tennis stories. No one is stopping Steve Tignor, Jenkins and other whiners from going for a long trip to Antartica after the US Open, and leaving the writing to others with more passion. When Federer won Paris, tennis.com lacked the passion to report it on time while its lead story remained about football (more passionately written by Tignor).

When Jenkins wishes the World Tour Finals to be eliminated, it just shows his ignorance and lack of respect for tennis history. If anything needs to be eliminated, it’s Davis Cup, some clay court tourneys like Monte Carlo and reducing Indian Wells and Miami to one week tourneys.

When Nadal whines about having less passion in Fall, Jenkins does not question why Rafa was whining when he played less tennis than the other top players after Wimbledon. How could he be depleted at WTF after not playing for 6 weeks, then be “undepleted” at the Davis Cup final a few days later… on clay? Indeed, Nadal’s most concentrated playing period was during the claycourt season mid April – early June (which Nadak voluntarily chooses to do). Why is he lacking passion six months later?

Here’s an example of Tignor’s better tennis writing, well-seasoned take and rarely found insight: “Bruce Jenkins makes a connection between Federer’s post-U.S. Open 17-0 run and Pete Sampras’s tear through Europe in late 1998 in a successful bid to finish No. 1 for a record sixth straight season. In both cases, while many people claimed that the end of the year didn’t matter, these aging champs showed their hunger and pride by going all out the whole way. Watching Federer the last two years in London has also reminded me of late-career Sampras.” Wrong.
- There is no connection between late-career Sampras and Federer in the last two years: in 2011 Federer was 17-0 winning four tourneys (including WTF) while in 1998 Sampras was 17-6 winning only one tourney (Vienna). Sampras played on average more tourneys in Fall throughout his career, while Federer won more in Fall despite playing less. Fed’s 2006 was even more successful (20-0, won four tourneys) during his peak.
- Between 1993 to 1997, Pete Sampras played 4 to 6 tournaments after the US Open. In 1998 he played 7 tourneys (winning only Vienna). In 1999 he played 2 tourneys (winning only WTF). Only once did Sampras win 3 tourneys (1997).
- Between 2006 to 2008, Federer played four tournaments after the US Open. In 2006, he went 20-0, winning all four. In 2009, he had a back injury so played only 3 tourneys plus Davis Cup. In 2010, he played 5 tournaments. In 2011, he played 3 tournaments but traveled all the way to australia to play Davis Cup.

I believe Federer has the capability to regain No. 1 but I think his best chance will be next year, if he works solidly during the early part of the year, he is going to gain points. He has confirmed he will be playing Rotterdam next year after not playing it for years, he has no points to defend there so can only add to his tally, but really I think it’s an interesting dynamic right now.

There is no way that either rafa or novak are going anywhere. Their problems are solvable ones with rest and reflection on the game plus intelligent scheduling.

No way does Rafa leave Toni’s clutches. He is as much a part of Rafa as tennis is. Seems that Novak just played the season of his life and is paying for his incredible year, but I really don’t think that he won’t be able to still be successful.

Murray’s chance awaits. Federer still very much in the mix; it’s exciting.

madmax: Winning Rotterdam won’t help Federer’s cause. In order to regain the No 1. ranking, he better do better in slams & M 1000 events – simple as that. THAT’s where Nole & Rafa were better in 2011, and THAT’s where the problem lies for Roger, like it or not. The season is being decided between Melbourne & New York, not in autumn (where everyone’s pretty much tired & disinterested to play)…

Jeez…what a WHINER! Nadal needs to lighten up and quit trotting out the same old year-end whine we hear from him every year. IMHO, he’s looking for an excuse to dump tennis as a career now that he knows he ain’t gonna be #1 and figures golf is his next big thing. What a wanker!

I’m not sure what the problem is with comparing late career Federer with late career Sampras. It’s not identical by any means, but until Federer went on a year end winning streak, his 2011 was looking similar to Sampras’ 2001. And Federer would be fairly happy, I should think, if he were to win a GS in 2012 like Sampras did in 2002. I don’t think he will.

Not that I think Isner can threaten the top spot, (and I’m not the biggest fan of his tennis) but when Big John is playing confident tennis he can be threatening. He’d have to get a little lucky but I could see him going deep at a slam – maybe making a final. Ditto for Milos Raonic.

Murray and del Potro are the ones I have the highest hopes for in 2012. Of course Djokovic’s shoulder and overall form has much to do with what happens in 2012.

Some Federer fans are getting excited without any solid reason. Getting back to number one is almost impossible. Djokovic will most likely rule the roost again in 2011 unless Nadal finds his mojo or Murray becomes a real factor at the majors. Murray, being a true contemporary, can not let Djokovic have another year of easy domination. Nadal has struggled all year to find his best game. Only his best form can stop Djokovic in the clay season but that appears increasingly unlikely. Nadal has come back from many setbacks in the past but all those years of extremely intense tennis must have taken a mental and physical toll. Unlike Roger though, he can still be realistically expected to contend for the biggest prizes since he is relatively young. It remains to be seen if Djokovic can maintain a high level next year. It is not easy to sustain a high level over a number of years. Nadal is an example. If Djokovic’s level drops slightly and Nadal continues to struggle, Murray could potentially be the next dominant force in tennis provided he gets his act together. However, I would really like to see some of the other guys become more of a factor at the majors and the masters events. Can Del potro, Tsonga, Berdych etc become real contenders and make things more interesting?

There’s plenty of solid reason to be excited rogerafa. Who says that Fed can’t realistically still win tournaments? Only you so far. This is what he has been working hard for, especially 2012. He has major successes in his sight. Complete focus for next year. Just you wait and see.

I really believe that Roger believes he can do it. His mental aptitude and confidence is high. He is fit and healthy and that incredible desire to win has not withered one iota.

I would never count him out and I think he has proved that age really does not mean a hoot when it comes to playing tennis. It’s the desire that is the crucial factor.

Look at Rafa’s desire. He says from his own mouth that it’s waning; things change though. I still believe Rafa is going to be a force. I think this is just a patch he is going through. They all go through it. Murray did last year too. So did Roger, and so did Novak 12 months ago.

Federer – He is a force of nature and ready for more.

Go fed I say.

I’d like to think that Tsonga is right up there too after his great year, but he then seems to beset himself with injuries though may be he will be more fortunate this time around.

Madmax, Fed has a great chance of getting back to #1. He missed in Wimbledon in the US Open by very narrow margins. A few shots here and there and it could have been another story. And had he raced ahead at RG it might have been a different story as well.

However, with that said if he plays like he can my boy has a good shot too, Vamos Rafa, take that spot back! I love Rafa although I’m not in love with him hahahahah.

that Novak has a good chance of retaining it is stating the obvious, the real question is what will Andy Murray do. And I don’t think anyone knows the answer to that including Andy Murray. To me he is the least likely to take the spot but if he does he could light a fire like Novak and stun the sporting world.

Novak schedule in the first three months tells us that he is not going to rush the things and chase the points by any meanings, I think he has got a plan , we will see. On the other hand, Federer is going to chase points from the word GO, look at his schedule. We will see who is going to outlast who. This is most likely Federer’s last chance to get to #1 and he knows that. It is the question can he keep it up next 9 months considering that he has already peaked . The other three are yet to find their best form. Everything is about timing.
I hope my man will prevail. Go Nole-Nolito !

One more thing, Novak is ahead about 4000, but that doesn’t mean much if we remember that he started this year more then 6000 points behind Rafa and he is defending 4500 points in the first ,and only, four he is playing next year.
It is pretty much open, we have to wait and see and hopefully watch good tennis.

Jane! You beat me too it; I read it this morning; it’s quite interesting that the stats match the atp rankings! Great work this time Bodo!

Alex, he has got a gold medal, it’s doubles though. Who cares? I know Federer does, but honestly if he doesn’t get a singles, he will always be able to fall back on his win with Stan, beating the world number ones at that time, the Bryan Brothers.

I woudl much rather he win Wimbledon 7 times, USO 6 times and AO 6 times and RG twice!

Kimberley, yes. I agree with everything you say and good luck to your guy next year too.

@Alex:
You are right , it is his aim , but not the only one and definitely not the only one missing, he sence that Rafa is shaken and Novak maybe worn out and Federer is short one week of Sampras record. DC is missing too, etc, etc. He is best on tour when it comes to mind games, the only one he couldn’t get into his mind is Nadal, he does get into Nole’s occasionally and definitely into Andy’s when it matters .Nothing wrong with that, that is part of game. He simply has some force inside his mind and body ,that no one else on tour has, that is telling him , more , more and more records, wins etc. Good on him, that why he is , arguably , GOAT.

nadal is just upset because he lost 2djokovic. he’ll get his s**t 2gether & probably regain #1.
i would luv 2c federer have a gr8 year, but i think it will be djokovic & nadal dominating once again w/nadal getting back into his usual groove. if only murray, tsonga, delpo & berdych could have the belief in themselves 2 win djokovic & nadal in the majors then maybe we would c a more competitive season, but i am still waiting on that & not holding my breath 4 any of these guys 2 take it 2 djokovic & nadal.

“Sunday Telegraph”
-Djoker has ended the season with a record- breaking $12.33 million in prizemoney.
Previous record Federe and Nadal $10.1 million in 2007/2010.
-TAB Sportsbet (I don’t bet) to win AO

Federer sensed his time has come and found the hunger to win again, even that by some “default” of other top contenders, he only faced Nadal once of top 4.

Djoko took everybody by surprise this year, and now that he lost regular matches again and some retirements, is like the order is restored in tennis world. If Djoko doesn’t win AO, everything can change in a second. But can’t see anyone other Than, Djoko, Nadal and Federer winning Slams net year, maybe Murray, who was in all semis and beyond this year, but will need some upsets along the way.

And Federer know the pressure will be all on Djoko and Nadal waiting his revenge or next embarrassment to Djoko if they meet again pre clay.

Very exciting season ahead, hope it folds as good as this one was, full of drama and historic feats.

i dont think the hunger ever went from roger,i think perhaps he was a little bit unlucky in some of his matches thats all,against nole at the uso,and against rafa at the fo,all ifs and buts on another day things could have been so very different,but there can be a fine margin between winning and loosing sometimes,roger has nothing left to proove anymore except to himself now anyway,his love of the game is as strong as ever,its just lady luck that comes and goes.

Skeezer – Thanks for the article. I’m not Kimberly, but I think McEnroe has the right idea. The disdain that many Americans have for clay is crazy. It’s talked about as if it’s an inferior surface which it clearly isn’t, and the article points out why. Frankly, I think it would be incredible to have American players who could really compete with the Europeans on clay, and not just with a big serve. It seems to me that clay court players, ie David Ferrer, can transfer their game to hardcourt better than a hardcourt player, ie Andy Roddick, can transfer his game to clay. The truly greats of the game can do both. So if we want to develop some Feds, Rafas, and Nole’s here in the US then we need to bring some value to the clay court.

Anna and Skeezer—I agree, junior players need to learn how to construct points and not rely on power. It for sure is the right move. Especially considering how most the surfaces have slowed better training on slower surfaces could lead to more american success on slower hard courts and todays grass.

But not just that. The only way to really understand how to move on clay is to train on it. I personally can’t stand the stuff nor can my husband because 1. movement is not as good 2. power not as effective. But slower surfaces are here to stay it seems and if the americans want to compete they need to be able to construct a point not just rely on power.

Thanks for the comments and totally agree. Courts are getting slower overall not faster, and thats the facts. Guys/Gals who have been born on Clay are finding great success on the surfaces in this era, so no sense resisting that fact either. If any player up here hasn’t played on Clay yet, try it. If it is not a surface you regularly play on, your at an easy disadvantage. The art of sliding and timing your slide is a must. The other issue here in the States is we need more Clay courts. The Parks and Recs at the City level are not going to build Clay as a first though. Historically its all been mostly hard courts that are built.

Fans and players of the game from the States need to speak out when you have the opportunity.

i agree with steve o and dory,who knows what will happen to rafa and his game from here on in,the scales will tip one way or the other,although he has very little left to proove now anyway,a yec and maybe a few more hc titles here and there, other than that not a lot left,i just hope to see him play for many more years win or loose.

what will happen to rafa and his game from here on in
–
Oh come on. You didn’t believe everything I said about losing passion for the game, did you? That is the “humble” part of Rafa speaking. The other half of Rafa is fine…moonballing, running like a chicken, etc.

Don’t worry. I will be back. Just need to beat Roger another 2 or 3 times to get my confidence back.

Fed is just 1425 points behind Nadal.
With literally no wins to defend in the first half; if Fed reaches the final of AO and wins a few tournaments in the first half, he could be no 2 going into Wimby.

Fed should leave Nole & Nadal to battle it out again this year. In 2011, these two survived till the US open. Already exhausted, they will probably kill each other by FO, leaving Fed with an opportunity to get back to number 1 and add another slam to his tally.

With literally no wins to defend in the first half; if Fed reaches the final of AO and wins a few tournaments in the first half, he could be no 2 going into Wimby.
—
Aussie open courts are SLOW. Roger won’t reach the final. Aussie Open, Miami Masters are slower than clay. Which means, I can moonball the Arrogant One into submission.

My honest belief: Fed WILL reach the AO, and I have every belief in him that he will do his darnest to get back to number 1 by the end of the year. Could be wrong of course, but am so interested in seeing how Fed will play early on with so much happening for him the rest of the year.

He loves the A0 with the laver effect and the past champions being there. I read something which said that it was where he heard that Mirka was pregnant with the twins and he just went hell for leather in that tournament. Hoping it has the same effect!

The question is will rafa make it to the final? What do you think?

Michael Says:
@Alex. The Olympics is not the only thing left 4 Fed to achieve. He hasn’t won the Davis Cup either.

December 12th, 2011 at 11:04 am

Michael,

Davis cup is interesting because you have TWO key players. Roger and Stan. Davis cup is not individual as you know, so Roger cannot do it on his own.

I don’t care much for davis cup as it is a tennis team sport. Spain have many great players, hence their success. You really cannot compare Spain to Switzerland, same goes for USA…great country, great players…more than 2!

Fed can’t compete with that. He and stan did well to come through the win against Australia in the final rubber. That was a win in itself for Switzerland and something to be very proud of.

Since it is the Festive season, here is a link depicting the year’s best winning celebrations, all the top four are there of course, but so very many others, like Pospisl, Tipsy, Roddick, Raonic, Steps, Simon, Tsonga, Delpo, etc… These are really nice pictures and really worth a look as a kind of happy recap! :) ENJOY!

@Humble Rafa Says
Aussie open courts are SLOW. Roger won’t reach the final. Aussie Open, Miami Masters are slower than clay. Which means, I can moonball the Arrogant One into submission.
—————————————————-
Hes won AO 4 times and is on a roll.The only player to defeat a healthy Nole this year.

@DC:
Three times out of four were faster courts, that is why he wasn’t happy in 2008 and he said that loudly to organizers when he found out that courts at AO are made slower. In 2010 NOLE retired in QF, Rafa in SF and Murray properly choked in final. You remember those” naive ” comments about British not winning GS for 50 or 100 years. Didn’t I mentioned before that he is master in mind games, and that one worked with Andy:-(
Just for a record :-)

It may be my perception, but i think Fed is hitting more angles and sacrificing the speed of his shots.

This is working for his as he is able to make his opponents run a lot more.

In particular he has significantly improved on the short angled forehand, which he is now using to drive his opponent further to the right and using the open court to construct the point.

Additionally, he is not trying to finish the point in a one or two shots; he is hitting safer shots and constructing points better than before.

These changes may work well for Fed, however this also means , Fed will be playing longer to win matches and may not be able to sustain the level for two weeks, especially if he ends up playing a 5 setter in the QF or SF.

2010 AO nole retired? sorry, but that year nole had some “pooping” issues and lost to tsonga in the qfs. rafa retired in qf Vs murray. not semis. murray played cilic in semis.

i like how some people use retirement as valid reasons to explain losses. I would say rafa/nole should be ashamed that they retired as defending champions – nole in 2009, rafa in 2010. nothing to be proud of. give their injury history and dubious MTOs, the least these 2 can do is take their beating like a man. their chickening out in high profile tournaments is a disgrace to sport [obviously nole deserves this crap more than nadal - has nadal retired from any other GS matches?]

this is one of the main reasons why these 2 cannot win the fan favorite/ sportsmanship awards even in their prime years. unfortunately for nole fans, it is not just about winning but how you play the game.

My mistake,
Lapsus linguae lapsus calami
I apologize , I was there in Rod Laver Arena watching Novak as sick as hell, almost spewing on the court, what was the reason he only knows. Best match of the tournament was Nadal- Murray even it wasn’t finished, Murray would win regadless because he was on fire. The rest of your comment is not worth replaying, because it has nothing to do with tennis but with your dislike for Novak ( particulary ) and then Nadal.

i am sure nole and his fans think retiring mid-match is the sign of a great warrior, but really anyone who plays sport in a fair manner would never do that. you cant blame nole fans for that. after all fan comes from fanatic which is not that from lunatic.

i have to agree with cindy,it does not look very good when players keep on retiring in the middle of matches,and i would say that about any player,i love nole and most of all rafa,but i love the game of tennis more,and i would say to any player at least have the dignity to finish the match,and not deny your opponent his or her victory.

Good on you alison. I can think of rafa retiring in only GS. nole’s done it 3 times and 2 times in DC too. thank god he doesn’t play for australia. we aussies hate such wussies. we like our players hewitt style. god knows hewitt can do stupid things, but as a spectator, he will always give his everything.

i think you have just overtaken jane as the most fair poster alison. i hope rafa never retires again. it puts the game in disrepute if its top players dont even care to finish a high profile match.

thanks cindy i think thats all you can do,is to see things from every angle,and not to get swayed by fan fanatisism,and it does now look like rafa is learning from past mistakes,btw who is your favourite player?

Humble Rafa Says: “Aussie open courts are SLOW. Roger won’t reach the final. Aussie Open, Miami Masters are slower than clay. Which means, I can moonball the Arrogant One into submission.”

It’s arrogant of anyone to presume one could moonball any ATP top 100 player into submission. Boredom maybe.

It was unusually cooler at night during the 2011 AO. Federer’s problems were during his night matches with Gilles Simon and Djokovic.

During the day, Federer is capable of putting on tennis clinics. Watch Federer vs Lucas Lacko, 2011 Australian Open R1: Just two weeks before, Lacko bageled Nadal in a set at Doha. After watching the Federer-Lacko match, Mats Wilander — a long-time critic of Federer — wrote: “if you didn’t see Federer’s match against Lukas Lacko then call the Tennis Channel and have a videotape sent to you! I have never seen Roger or anyone ever play better than he did in the first two sets winning both 6-1. Lacko just recently lost to Rafael Nadal in three sets and actually won one set 6-0 so he can play… Over the last 6 months (Federer) has transformed his game into the most aggressive player of all time, sorry John McEnroe and Stefan Edberg… no one will make it “look” as good and as “easy” as Roger does at the moment.”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMiNAUGicMs

Wog boy Says: “Three times out of four were faster courts, that is why he wasn’t happy in 2008 and he said that loudly to organizers when he found out that courts at AO are made slower…Didn’t I mentioned before that he is master in mind games, and that one worked with Andy:-( Just for a record :-)”

Do you have a link to support your allegations that Federer complained loudly about the speed of the AO courts?

On the other hand here is proof of Djokovic’s relentless and classless mind games against Federer after Roger turned up sick at the 2008 Australian Open (Federer suffered both mononucleosis and food poisoning): “Here in Melbourne, there has been an attempt at revisionism. According to Djokovic, the men’s locker-room now believe that Federer has lost his aura of invincibility, that he could be vulnerable to defeat. It was a view enhanced last Saturday when another Serbian, Janko Tipsarevic, extended Federer to a 10-8 fifth set in their third-round match. “The players start to feel that Federer is beatable,” Djokovic said. “Of course, nobody’s unbeatable. But he was very, very dominant, especially on the faster surfaces. You know, now he’s been the world No 1 for a while. The players started playing in a different way against him, with more belief that they can win. So it’s a good thing for all of us.”http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/australianopen/2289827/Confident-Novak-Djokovic-a-threat-to-Federer.html

Wog boy Says:
@DC:
Three times out of four were faster courts, that is why he wasn’t happy in 2008 and he said that loudly to organizers when he found out that courts at AO are made slower.

No way Wog boy. 2008, Federer had mono, he did exceptionally well to even reach the heights he did in that year…and played one of the truly, if not THE greatest tennis match ever!

I would like to see the script supporting what you have said about Federer; and if he was vocal, then perhaps that had something to do with his place on the board of ATP which, when all is said and done, he can say what he likes, but ultimately is up to the directors.

Cindy_Brady, re: nole. Novak retired for good reason. Everyone watching that match could see how he was suffereing. The guy had asthma and that was recorded, be nice to him. He has had a great year and is a true champion.

Eurosport
When Eurosport’s tennis expert Mats Wilander summarizing his impressions from 2011, he finds that Roger Federer still can be number one. “I think he has never been better than now,” said Wilander.
-You can watch Roger Federer’s year in two ways, “says Mats Wilander.
-On paper it was not fantastic. He lost to a convincing Novak Djokovic in Australian Opens semifinals. He lost another final at the French open against Rafael Nadal. He had 2-0 in sets against Tsonga in Wimbledon but lost the next three. He also had 2-0 and two match balls against Novak Djokovic in the US Open-Centre and lost again, all because he tried to play too much on security.

“BEHAVING MORE SECURE”
-At the same time is Federer the player who has won 16 Grand Slams. He appears more secure now than ever before. He is more experienced. I think he has never been better than now.
-See how he ended the year! After the US Open he lost not a single match. He won the ATP finals in London convincing. He can still be world’s best player.

Federer has spent 285 weeks at No. 1 – just one week short of Sampras’ record, but Henman is confident Federer is capable of adding to his 16 grand slams and returning to world No. 1.

“I think with a rolling ranking it will be interesting to see if Federer can get back to No. 1,” Henman said. “He is just short of Sampras’ record for most weeks at world No. 1. I know Roger will really want to break that record, so I think it’s possible.

“I think he will win more slams, I really do. If the conditions favour him then Roger at his best is still better than anyone else.”

Federer ended the year on a high, winning titles in Basel and Paris before claiming a record sixth crown at the ATP World Tour Finals in London. And the former world No. 4 believes Federer’s recent form just proves the danger of writing off the Swiss.

“I’ve always been a Federer fan because I love the way he plays, and while he’s lost a few matches out there this year, he deserved to win in London,” Henman told the ATP Champions Tour website.

“It’s amazing that people were trying to write him off. For Roger to play the way that he did in London and go beyond both Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl in terms of year ending championship victories, that was incredible.”

@madmax:
It was interview given here and it was in Dally Telegraph when he made remarks about change of courts. HE said something like “…i don’t understand why are they doing this, making them slower… etc.etc” . Becouse they were changed for AO 2008. You can trust me or not, but I never write anything unless I saw it . It was no my intention to show any disrespect for Federer just facts that courts at AO were fast. I think I said clearly before what I think about, arguably, GOAT.
I also said about mind games that there is nothing wrong with that, it is part of the game and that he is the best one in
doing that, not that the others are not doing mind games.
What surprised me was that Murray had such big team, and they still didn’t manage to do good job confidence wise. He lost that final in dressing room, it was obvious to anyone who watched it.
Anyway madmax, I hope I cleared things little bit.
Cheers

i know people who play tennis with asthma. stop making excuses for nole. do you see other sports’ top players being a wimp like nole? what kind of an athlete cant even play 80 pro tennis matches in a year? federer at 6 years older has played more matches than this joker. sorry, but respect to someone doesn’t mean falling at their feet and licking their blanks! i call it as i see it.

nole has had a terrific year, but doesn’t change the fact that the guy is physically a pu$$y. he better grow some or he will be criticised for what it is.

@ Humble Rafa
Some people believe that their wives get more beautiful every year. It is just a mind trick. Actually, she is getting older and your eye sight is bad.
—————————————————
This is hilarious – who said that ever??

Seriously – is this the kind of logic you are going to use to against people saying that Fed has made improvements?

It is not right for Nadal now to disown Tony who has been the fulcrum on which his career was built brick-by-brick. Tony’s influence with Nadal was not restricted just to Tennis but went much beyond even on family and religious values. Tony is an self-professed Atheist and so is Nadal who some portray as Agnostic. To aptly put, Tony is not just a coach but something much above that. Therefore, Nadal needs Tony more especially when there is huge question mark over his motivation to the game at this stage. See everybody cannot be like Federer playing without a coach.

‘i know people who play tennis with asthma. stop making excuses for nole. do you see other sports’ top players being a wimp like nole?’

HOw can you say this about Nole when he has beaten rafa in 6 finals this year, or is it 7? No way you can describe Novak as a wimp! It’s just ludicrous. If you don’t like the guy, that’s a different story, but try and be objective. He is an amazing athlete and right now the best in the world. Plus you are talking about Novak 2 years ago. He is a very different person now.

See everybody cannot be like Federer playing without a coach.
—
That is if you believe Fed didn’t have a coach. What was Severine Luthi doing with him, travelling almost full time? His personal janitor?

Wog boy Says:
January 14.2008.
Federer:
“I’m happy with my form, to be honest. Very pleased. Phsically I am fine now, too. No more issues.”

“Yeah, I would consider myself a hundred per cent.”

That means that Nole beat healthy and ready Federer, and not sick one as we can often read posted by some Federer fans.

December 13th, 2011 at 5:41 pm

Wog boy, your assessment of Federer and the mono issue is incorrect. This is what the article you refer to says…and it relates to a stomach virus…NOT Mono which is entirely a different matter and in fact if you read further, you will see that Federer was NOT assessed for Mono until after the event because Federer did not have a clue that this nasty, infection was in his system.

I think it’s important to quote correctly. He may have recovered from a stomach virus, but the mono was already in his system by then and that is a fact, not an excuse. You can read the doctor’s report yourself(or statement rather)..if you are that interested, because it is kind of old news now.

‘January 14, 2008. ROGER FEDERER has shaken off a stomach virus and declared himself fit for the defence of his Australian Open title this..etc..

google it for the full article.

Federer fans at that time were obviously concerned about his health and fitness level.

When Roddick ‘had mono’, he knew that something was wrong with his body, but he didn’t know exactly what until he went for tests.

Federer was exactly the same. He’s no doctor, so how would he know until he got tested? No sense, whichever way you lookedc at it.

Mono stays in the sytem for up to if not more than 12 months. And that’s a fact. Read all about it under infections if you are that bothered.

Ben, the one thing notable to me is that when he retired in the two matches this year, it was pretty obvious that he had injuries to his shoulder/rib muscles/back all on the right-hand serving side, perhaps due to an uneasy service motion, that may still need tweaking/work. I am not saying her should’ve retired. In particular, I wish he’d've finished the Murray final and wouldn’t've even attempted to play the Delpo match – it was suicide after the punishing USO final between himself and Rafa, where it was clear he was already hurting. To turn around, do a media blitz, fly home and a couple of days later play another high profile match against a top player was not a great idea considering he wasn’t 100% in his ribs/shoulder. His team should’ve played someone else. That’s my opinion. Some of his past retirements seemed more related to breathing, which did not contribute to his two retirements this year as his glutten-free diet seems to have helped in that regard. I don’t know if this makes him a “different person”; I am just saying that the injuries were pretty clear-cut. If Nole’s will wasn’t so strong this year, he wouldn’t have beaten Monfils at Cincy and made it to the finals, and he wouldn’t have tried to play Delpo. But his will to win and compete this year were at an all time high for him, methinks.

the day nole beats rafa in a 5 setter, i will believe he is not a wimp. athletes who retire from matches are wimps in my book. i can excuse once/twice but 2 times in 1 frigging year? fcuk u very much, but that is a wimp. [the last statement is not directed at you but any player who retires in 2 matches in a year or retires on a regular basis] novak beat rafa because he was a better tennis player this year than rafa. it has got nothing do with novak’s wimpy attitude that has been in demonstration in high profile matches since 2006.

fo qf, wimbledon semis, aussie qf, 2 davis cup matches. 1 final of a masters, a match in his own country’s tournament. if jankovic or tipsarevic did that i would not care. but a hall of famer doing this crap? sorry, it has WIMP written all over it with a million size font. in bold. underlined and italicized. in flourescent color.

imho i think if you choose to go on court,then you choose to win or loose,if your fit to play,then play,if not dont play,pure and simple,same for rafa,nole,muzza,delpo,whoever,no excuses,no exceptions.

Were you referring to the Nole match with his back spams? Forgot that was DC right?There is no way he coulda shoulda continued that match. Quitting when you are just tired is another thing, or injured but still can continue play, but that was pretty obvious he could not continue.

That said, I guess the days are gone where guys got shot with cortisone or pain killers to continue on in the tournament ( Remember Agassi USO? ). Guess this is not Football where guys play with broken limbs and stiches……

@madmax:
You and Dave wanted prove that Federer said what he said. I gave you one, yet you don’t talk about that anymore Just because you didn’t know about that interview doesn’t mean that I am liar. You can read what Serena and Justin said about same thing,are their opinion is not good enough for madmax. The other players said more or less the same, you know that. If somebody say “hundred per cent” that means “hundred per cent”, whether is virus or mono. He knows his body better than Wog boy or madmax, don’t you think so. Such athlete knows his body and if something is wrong, I am not saying he didn’t get mono, but he was fine at AO , he just met a better player on day, Novak, he returned a favor to Federer from USO 2007 in same way. Nobody should take credit from Nole by saying, Federer had mono, it is just not fair. When Nadal lost to Tsonga, same AO, he just said ” I don’t know what happened, he (Tsonga) just blew me away”.
That sounds better then “I didn’t know I had mono.”
What a load of rubbish. I do know something about sport and not feeling 100%, trust me , I played basketball myself, first thing to learn in downtown Belgrade, after you learn to walk, is to play basketball, best game on earth, sorry my tennis fans.
Madmax, you are always going to bit me in this kind of
conversation because of language advantage you have over me and that is OK, I was aware of that before I started to post. What is more important to me is that I had chance to post my opinion on this forum.
I close my case.
Tennis – x, thank you for having me.
Go NOLE, you good thing, you are the best.

skeeze, have you read Agassi’s book? He implies it wasn’t worth it to play with those cortisone shots, as he was dealing with harrowing back pain all the time. But I guess he did bag those two slams post-30-years-old, so maybe it was worth it in some ways.

^no I haven’t read it yet, but it doesn’t surprise me he is paying for it now. We have plenty of famous football players in the States that are paying for it now for that kinda stuff. But when asked if they would go through it again,the majority said they would. Ahh..fame and glory….fame and glory.

I am not sure if your “quotes” are true. I have not seen them in any other Rafa-related news. You know it is illegal to make stuff up. This is another low point for tennis-x.com. A place that writers can make up quotes and are not even man enough to attach their name to their article!

Both of your posts would be better placed if you emailed the staff, should be on the home page, and ask them to clarify or ask from where the info came from. There usually pretty good about responding however it is Holiday time.

In the meantime, Rafa seems in good spirits, this vid was during DC I believe. The ols shaving cream prank :-)

I agree with you when you say that it shouldn’t take away from Djokivic victory. Though to suggest that he didn’t have mono is not correct imo.Yes federer said he was fit, but that isn’t really suprising as he barely ever, if ever mentions that he’s tired or has the flu, which are symptoms of mono. And in all honesty I barely ever see people put asteriks behind djoko’s victory in 2007, the only times I see people mention it is when fans use fitness excuses in favor of djokovic. Take his results after the US open for example, everyone including the media just dimsisses them as novak wasn’t fit. Which is unfair to players like ferrer, kei ect. who beat him fair and square.

BTW, I asked my friend the psychic who will win the slams in 2012, and she said that Djokovic should win the AO. Apparently, his chart is amazing for January 2012. She told me that Murray and Del Potro have fantastic charts for the second semester of 2012 and could see each of them winning a slam in the second semester. As for Nadal, she said right now he is going through a terrible lunar year that and that she sees him winning the FO next year since his chart for the period of May/June 2012 is great. She didn’t tell me anything about Federer this time. Maybe he will win titles but not a slam in 2012? What about Olympic gold next year for Fed?

jamie if your psychic is correct i will be delighted,another slam for rafa is another slam for rafa,whichever surface its on i dont really care,also been a brit for muzza to grab a slam will be amazing,all in all if your pyschics correct a great tennis year for me personally,cheers you have made my day,hope shes right though time will tell.

As long as Murray gets a GS, I don’t care who else wins what. Okay, that’s not exactly true since I hope someone other than Nadal wins FO. I’m so sick of Nadal winning FO. With that in mind, here’s my wish for GS’s in 2012:

AO – Murray
FO – Djokovic – have to support the man completing a career slam.
Wimbledon – Someone not named Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic please.
US Open- Same as Wimbledon
Olympic Gold – anyone but Nadal. Djokovic will win Olympic Gold.

For tennis fans without a strong fanboy/girl bias, tennis is much more competitive and interesting when 1 player doesn’t dominate the season.

Nadal will only win 1 more slam(FO in 2012) and that he will struggle a lot with *injuries* in the second semester of 2012 and throughout 2013….. She doubts Federer will win another slam but she sees the Swiss winning more titles in 2012 and 2013 than Nadal…..

So for the next 2 seasons, Nadal wins 1 more slam, Federer wins zero slams but the Swiss wins more titles elsewhere than Nadal. She sees Federer still achieving big things like maybe Olympic gold and Davis Cup perhaps in 2013.

She also sees Federer having marital problems with his wife and a divorce in the future.. She sees Federer with another woman in the future. This surprises me even more than the no more slams for Federer forecast.

Wog boy Says:
@madmax:
You and Dave wanted prove that Federer said what he said. I gave you one, yet you don’t talk about that anymore Just because you didn’t know about that interview doesn’t mean that I am liar. You can read what Serena and Justin said about same thing,are their opinion is not good enough for madmax. The other players said more or less the same, you know that. If somebody say “hundred per cent” that means “hundred per cent”, whether is virus or mono. He knows his body better than Wog boy or madmax, don’t you think so. Such athlete knows his body and if something is wrong, I am not saying he didn’t get mono, but he was fine at AO , he just met a better player on day, Novak, he returned a favor to Federer from USO 2007 in same way. Nobody should take credit from Nole by saying, Federer had mono, it is just not fair. When Nadal lost to Tsonga, same AO, he just said ” I don’t know what happened, he (Tsonga) just blew me away”.
That sounds better then “I didn’t know I had mono.”
What a load of rubbish. I do know something about sport and not feeling 100%, trust me , I played basketball myself, first thing to learn in downtown Belgrade, after you learn to walk, is to play basketball, best game on earth, sorry my tennis fans.
Madmax, you are always going to bit me in this kind of
conversation because of language advantage you have over me and that is OK, I was aware of that before I started to post. What is more important to me is that I had chance to post my opinion on this forum.
I close my case.
Tennis – x, thank you for having me.
Go NOLE, you good thing, you are the best.

December 14th, 2011 at 5:29 pm

Wogboy!

I haven’t read your link about what Federer has supposedly said, seriously. I asked you for it though and the one you posted referred to a stomach virus NOT anything else.

Post me the link and I will read it and reply to you honestly,(if you are that interested in my opinion?).

And your English is great, so please don’t use that as an excuse. I understand you perfectly, just you haven’t posted any concrete evidence as far as I can see, so until you do, I can’t answer you.

carlo and jane i too would love for muzza to win a grand slam next year,been a brit wimbledon would be fantastic,but then again any slam would be,for nole to grab the fo would be a career grand slam,rafas nothing to proove there now anyway,although he would also make history 7 fos,also tying level with borg and laver on slams won,dont get me wrong its competition thats great for the sport not domination,but both nole and rafa would both like to make history by winning the fo for different reasons,and that to me already looking ahead makes the fo very interesting,looking ahead to the ao which was the last slam roger won 2 years ago,i think he would love to proove a point and what better place to start,and the comeback kid hmm the uso maybe where he won his 1st slam,olympic gold is the only thing left that federer has not won,2012 is looking very interesting already indeed.

carlo, I will always support Nole and Muzza. :) I’d be happy if they split the slams next year. These two have played second fiddle to “the Fedal slam show” for a few years, so I’d like to see them in the limelight for a bit. I know Nole got a good share last year, which was welcome for me. Murray is on track! On the other hand, if other faces pop up and win slams, too, that will be fine and dandy: Delpo or Tsonga or Raonic or Tomic or …? We’ll see, I guess..

I don’t know which part of this article about ” federer lamenting need of change” … ” from rebound ace to plexicushion” and also comments from Serena and Justine about new surface, if you read from the beginig you can not see. It is said more about surface and Federer then about
virus, but I guess we all see what we want to see.
I can not do more then this, thanks.

However I did notice how is was not happy with the court surface slowing down back then, but then he still wins AO the next year. Very proud to be a fan of his, knowing that the surfaces were slowing down on him back then but yet he can muster up a Slam title on the gooey stuff. So very awesome as we all know Fed likes to drive fast! :)

But make no mistake if Rafa wan’t around he would have dominated on the slow stuff too.

For your man he is coming into the age where his game is developing nicely on all the surfaces also, as he has the proper technique for it ( keep improving that serve Nole! )so let’s see if he continues on in 2012. I don’t see why not?

if jamie and his pyschic are to be believed,then it will make for a very interesting year in 2012,nole wins ao,rafa wins fo,muzza wins wimbledon,jmdp wins uso,fed helps switzerland to win dc,and also wins a gold medal at the olys,if that all were to happen then that would be one of the most interesting and open years we have had in years,nole would have to wait at least another year for his career grand slam though,and somehow i just dont believe roger is done winning grand slams yet,put it this way though i think everyone will be gob smacked if jamies pyschic this time next year has predicted everything correctly.

I’m now not sure what exactly what it is that you are arguing? That he was physcially fit? because is starts with this:

“Recovered from a stomach virus, world No.1 Federer said the new blue courts were slower than Rebound Ace, contradicting more positive assessments from defending champion Serena Williams and title favourite Justine Henin.”

and ends with this:

“Federer said he was unconcerned about missing the AAMI Classic at Kooyong last week after withdrawing from the round-robin because of illness.

“I’ve been playing sets the last couple days, you know, which was very important for me, to be able to play points,” he said.

“I’m happy with my form, to be honest. Very pleased. Physically I’m fine now, too. No more issues.

“Yeah, I would consider myself a hundred per cent.”

And of course you are right, we read things into things that we want to. But for what it is worth. He was suffering with a stomach virus, he recovered from a stomach virus so to his mind the ailment/perceived problem was that what he was suffering from had corrected itself?

That does not mean however that he wasn’t suffering from Mono, because he was, he wouldn’t know at that point why he was feeling tired, or sluggish at certain parts of the match, becuae he had recovered from his virus and when he played at AO, he still reached the SF’s which was marvellous all considering. I suppose, after his post match check ups he felt it worth investigating, after all, he knows his own body, right?

Hence the mono statement after a few weeks of tests, from the doctor in the federer camp. I don’t see what the problem is here? There weren’t excuses why he lost. He lost to a better player on the day. Fact. That doesn’t mean that Federer wasn’t suffering from mono though, because he was and no doubt that would have played a part in his overall game, surely?

but an extract: MASON, Ohio — Andy Roddick finally knows what’s been getting him down the last few months – a mild case of mononucleosis.

Roddick said on Saturday that one of several blood tests came back positive for mononucleosis. Doctors told him he’s probably had it for the last couple of months and should be nearly over it.

“I’m just glad that we found out something that was causing it,” said Roddick, who is getting ready for next week’s Cincinnati Masters. “It’s weird, the fear of kind of the unknown and not knowing what’s going on. There were some days where it was good, and some days where it was real bad. So it was like you would have one of those two or three good days, and it was like, ‘OK, you’re just being kind of a wimp.’

Roger Federer had mononucleosis in 2008, leading to a decline in his wins and his ranking. Roddick has slipped to No. 11 in the world while struggling through a summer of out-of-character losses, making him wonder what was wrong.

There you have it in black and white (allegedly), from the above newspaper that Roddick DIDN’T KNOW that he had mono, he just knew he had some good days, and others, not so good.

No different to Roger in terms of ‘not knowing what was wrong’, but we know that Roger’s case was a more serious one.

Interesting top ten stats indeed. Neither Fed nor Rafa have beaten top ten players 21 times in one year, like Nole did this year, although obviously both Fed and Rafa have had more consistently good winning percentages over the years, Fed in particular for a few years there.

Fed was 19-4 versus top tenners in 2006; Nole was 21-4 this year. I think Rafa’s best was 17-6 in 2008 (considering how many times he met top tenners not necessarily percentage. In 2010 he played top tenners only 16 times or something).

@skeeze & madmax:
I don’t want you to think that I am ignoring you or don’t have manners, I was away in the bush (walkabout) and there was no mobile service. I’m back in Sydney now.
@skeeze:
‘”croos hairs” :) I have to put that one in my notebook of english phrases, so I can use it. Thanks, nice post :

@madmax:

We started a conversation with you asking me to prove that Federer complained about slow surface and I proved. Discussion was diverted and diluted by you, about stomach virus, mono, chicken pox and whatever. My job was to prove to you what I said and I did it. The only reason I reacted was because I realise that you are suggesting that my man won because Federer was sick and that I am not telling the truth (to put it bluntly, lying) since you didn’t find what i was talking about. I would like to go back where I started since I found that he complained this year at USO too, what makes him serial offender :-)
There is a very, very good reason why AO, USO and I heard Wimbledon slowed their courts, I guess FO is slow enough. Ten years ago was no problem with fast courts but since then technology changed strings and raquets so much, that acording to one discussion on TV here that all what is going to be left of tennis will be service, service, service. I think they were spot . I prefer to watch Nadal never die atitude running like speedy Gonzales and chasing every ball, Federer floating above the surface like good ghost Casper and Novak running into the stands beetwen spectators and returning the ball then to watch Ivo Karlovic and his “slam bam thank you mam ” style, I am ready to ” bold and beautiful” just not that. If we have fast courts and new strings and raquets that is where we are going to end up with tennis. Who is going to watch that and pay 200-300 dollars, surfaces are not made slower orginisers to deny Federer winning GS but to keep arenas full and tennis most attractive individual sport on planet earth. That is my humble opinion, right or wrong I am sticking with my guns.
BTW madmax, I am not going to use english lingo any more as excuse…it didn’t work..: but it was a good try, you have to admit :-)
And one more thing, I do respect your opinion very much, and I mean it, even if I don’t agree with you.
Cheers.

I’ve been working on this for the last hour and I hope that it’s fair.

Thanks for your post and you seriously surprise me by saying this:

‘The only reason I reacted was because I realise that you are suggesting that my man won because Federer was sick (umm…no I’m not)…and that I am not telling the truth (to put it bluntly, lying) since you didn’t find what i was talking about.(because you didn’t post a link!)… I would like to go back where I started since I found that he complained this year at USO too, what makes him serial offender :-)’

I absolutely did NOT say anything of the sort!

You may not be prepared to look back over old posts, but I know that I would never say that. Novak is my number 2 and anyone will tell you that here. I think it would have helped if you posted the link originally, because there were two conversations going on – one about the surfaces – where fed said about the ‘slow’ surfaces, and the changes which I did read but couldn’t initially find as you know – etc. and the other about the fact that he was sick and I think to be fair, wogboy, 2008 is intertwined in his memory and ours for lots of reasons. You said this:

Wog boy Says:
@DC:
Three times out of four were faster courts, that is why he wasn’t happy in 2008 and he said that loudly to organizers when he found out that courts at AO are made slower…’

My comment initially was about mono because it is the year (2008) that sticks in my head the most for a number of reasons, but mono existed and happened to be caught by federer whether you like it or not. Not once did I say he lost the AO because of Mono, so be careful there. But if you are asking me directly, my personal opinion is that it most likely did affect his overall performance – in 2008 – despite Federer saying he was physically fit prior to AO SF with novak- when his pre-interview was given, the interviewer was relating a question to his recovery from a stomach virus – NOT MONO and must have said, ‘how are you feeling roger since your virus? Are you feeling better now? , or words to that effect and that would have been his response. That he felt ’100%’. That does not mean though, that he wasn’t suffering from mono, because he clearly was.

He lost fair and square to novak – no argument – I think it is even more remarkable that he played so well against Novak and generally in the tournament.

Like you said, many players were vocal about the surface change and I don’t think it really matters. I think it is good to hear that players think so much of their profession to come out and speak how they feel and talk about surfaces. It’s their job!

And as for the novak shot at the USO 2011 that you refer to even Novak by his own admission said it wasn’t a calculated shot, (similar to him closing his eyes and hoping the shot would go in the year before). It was based on instinct. Novak said this.

So when you discuss Roger’s disrespect of Novak, I completely understand why you would say that, you love the guy, but also be aware that Novak has his own ways of dealing with disrespect DURING a game (something that I don’t think you can accuse Roger of):

‘September 10, 2011
Novak Djokovic’s Poor Sportsmanship Mars US Open Semifinal Victory Saturday
When a player comes back from two sets down in a Grand Slam semifinal it should be cause for celebration. But Novak Djokovic’s remarkable victory is hard to celebrate because the world’s number one player resorted to poor sportsmanship to defeat Roger Federer.

With Federer serving for the match in the fifth set, Djokovic stopped play to go to the back wall and dance up and down, waving to encourage the crowd to cheer. Then, with Federer still standing ready to serve, Djokovic strolled slowly back to the far, back corner to towel off’.

Here is the photo too, arms raised to cheer on the crowd. Have you ever seen Federer do this?

(ignore the headline, it’s actually a very interesting article, wogboy, both good and bad).

the return by novak was certainly a split-second decision without much prior thought behind it. (novak’s admission as well as post interview).

‘However, being a champion is knowing, when your back is against the wall, when to close your eyes and trust your instincts and when to use your brain and common sense to dig you out of holes. Djokovic trusted both his brain and instincts so well in that final set. The return was not “luck”; he is the best returner on the planet and if anyone is capable of making such a shot off a first serve, it’s Novak Djokovic. And there’s no doubt that he has made similar shots in his career. Much like last year, he did close his eyes instinct simply took over, but unlike those juniors that Federer so diligently described, Djokovic’s risk-taking only lasted only one shot’.

- and you know wogboy I like Novak – I just think people make too much of Fed’s alleged dislike of Novak, I personally think that’s rubbish, when he is very respectful of his achievements this year and before. He has said this year in many intervies I have read that Novak is a superb athlete and is one of the best returners of the game, along with Murray, that his season has been incredible and he ‘wishes him all the best’. Class.

Which novak fans ever see Novak’s faults? and comment on them? You always hear about Roger’s faults or Roger’s disrespect of others and that’s what I find unfair. Let’s bash federer. And how he is always supposed to be playing some kind of psychological warfare game all the time. Brad Gilbert said something about this:

Q: In his book “Winning Ugly,” former tennis pro and coach Brad Gilbert describes what is essentially psychological warfare on the tennis court. Is that the way you see it too?

Federer: I always have to smile to myself a little when I see what people read into some of the things I’ve said. For example, in an interview after my win in Australia, John McEnroe said that I had used all my experience of psychological warfare by stating before the final that Murray was under a lot more pressure than me because I had already won everything. I then apparently also exploited Murray’s injured foot to the maximum. Of course, that’s absolute nonsense, especially as the supposed foot injury turned out to be no problem at all. I don’t see that sort of thing as psychological warfare, I just say what I think. The fact that Murray, with no Grand Slam wins, would need the win in a final more than me and therefore be under more pressure is just the way it is.

Federer has congratulated Novak many times for his awesome season and acknowledged that he is the best player of the season. People don’t want to hear good news though.

I admire him for never giving up despite being raked over the coals by the media these last few years. He kept trying, kept working on his game, kept moving forward even when he stumbled a few times. That in itself is an amazing feat.

madmax, regarding Djokovic’s theatrical antics when Fed was serving for the match: any impression must be personal, of course. At the time,I took Djokovic’s somewhat extravagant behaviour to be spontaneous – that’s just how he is, Federer is a very different sort of a person, and what a merry thing it is, that we have such distinct characters to contemplate and enjoy on the tennis court. It never occured to me that Djokovic was indulging in deliberate gamesmanship to try and put Federer off – at the time, I was too livid with Federer. Perhaps I was naive, perhaps I wasn’t – but does it really matter? Gamesmanship forms a part of every sport, and a player shows his mettle by being able to deal with it. And thereby gains respect too, by the way, from his opponent.

from Tennis.com:”The Spaniard disputed the contention of Boris Becker and other analysts who said that one of the reasons for his losses to Djokovic was that he went cross-court too much to the Serb’s backhand, his stronger side.

“That’s too simple,” Nadal said. “I don’t believe that. At times this year when I played him I have not been at the level [that I was in the past], and that’s the reality. That my forehand is not harmful to his backhand … well it hurt him in the past, at Indian Wells, at Miami [where Nadal lost tight three-setters]. I see it more a mental issue. Maybe I hit three shots from the baseline and have been able to last to the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh … With just three maybe I [wasn’t effective enough], but with more maybe I will be. That’s what I have to do next year, not just against him, but also against the whole world.”

Notice how defensive Nadal is here. When all was going well for him, he was accused by some (me, for instance)of being less than candid in his self-deprecating press interviews. Now that the world has crashed around his shoulders due to the feats of one man, and one man alone, he is suddenly starting to look for excuses.

The reason I mention this is not to be anti-Nadal. It’s just that Federer has often been accused of being a sore loser, Murray of looking anywhere rather than within to account for a poor performance and so on.

The fact is, it’s normal to make excuses, at least sometimes. Great tennis players are fallible human beings, why expect more from them than you would ask of yourself? Furthermore, there is this: I have sometimes quoted this remark from the great British sprinter, Lindford Christie, to the effect that “great champions can always find an excuse for their losses”. This was said with a twinkle in the eye, but Christie was making an important point. A sports champion occupies fairly rarefied heights, especially in these days of instant global attention, and he has to (one would have thought sustain a pretty unusual state of mind to continue his exploits. Frankly, I doubt if truth is generally the first consideration, here. A warrior wants above all to win his important matches, not win moral kudos.

My point with wogboy, which was raised by him iniitally and which I wanted to respond to regarding 3 things: surface, 2008 mono and Novak’s match point, with a fair assessment (I hope) of the situation as I see it with Novak…when he closed his eyes. By Novak’s admission, it was a ‘shot in the dark’ not a calculated one. I can only go on what NOvak said himself.

But I will be honest. I didn’t see Novak do the dance at the USO, or raise his hands to the crowd, until I did a bit of digging and I think that would have put anyone off their game at that moment – of course Federer should never have lost that match, but he did.

In terms of tennis players and their mettle as you put it, yes.

At the FO in 2009, remember when ‘Jimmie’ ran onto the court, waving and prancing a flag over Roger’s head? This was a final – a slam that Federer had never won,the pressure must have been enormous on Fed, so potentially with ‘Jimmie’ on the court, and that moment of sheer horror, that he was going to pull a knife or something – Roger lost the next point, the ball sailed through the air and was completely wayward. Not surprising. I thought to myself – he is going to lose his mind over what has just happened. But he didn’t.

Of course he is a warrior. No question. Even more so than ever before.

there is a saying i once heard,show me a good looser and ill show you a looser,make of that statement whatever you may,i think this is what makes great champions exactly that,they hate to loose to anyone,they may respect there opponents but they are still angry at loosing.

While Novak didn’t do a dance, he did walk to his towel and on the way he raised his arms for some love, which could be seen as spontaneous or as gamesmanship depending on one’s perspective I guess, or even frustration maybe. Fed said after he didn’t even see that, he talked more about the return itself.. Whether that is true that he didn’t see Nole raise his arms, I don’t know, but yeah, at least Fed didn’t make a big deal of it. I interpreted Nole’s “I closed my eyes” comment metaphorically, as in the postmatch interview Novak also said “I read his serve and I took my chance”, so he could not have done that with his eyes closed literally.

All the top guys get attacked for this, that or the other thing, but they are all unique, and they are all proud sportsmen, so of course they rationalise, whine and/or make excuses. Rafa is in a different position as he has only really had Fed to contend with in a way, as he was either chasing his records/ranking or he was ruling and still saying Fed is the best. Now he has to look at things from a different perspective so he is bound to react differently. We have seen a different side of Rafa this year I think. On and off court. Maybe it also has to do with him gorwing up, maturing, and becoming more independent. And, since becoming number one, Nole has taken hits in the press and beyond too, but that is the way it is. McEnroa said he picks Nole to win AO but won’t be surprised if he retires. Necombe says Nole will fall hard. Another one of the Aussies said to the press that Nole should “act more like Federer and Rafa” and tone down his celebrations etc. It is just normal I guess that the top guys, and the number one, take flack and are compared to one another. Poor Murray gets loads of crap, constantly from the press. Mac says he needs to lose the negativity, someone else says he needs a coach. And so on. I hope these guys don’t read the press!!!

While Novak didn’t do a dance, he did walk to his towel and on the way he raised his arms for some love, which could be seen as spontaneous or as gamesmanship depending on one’s perspective I guess, or even frustration maybe. Fed said after he didn’t even see that, he talked more about the return itself.. Whether that is true that he didn’t see Nole raise his arms, I don’t know, but yeah, at least Fed didn’t make a big deal of it. I interpreted Nole’s “I closed my eyes” comment metaphorically, as in the postmatch interview Novak also said “I read his serve and I took my chance”, so he could not have done that with his eyes closed literally.

All the top guys get attacked for this, that or the other thing, but they are all unique, and they are all proud sportsmen, so of course they rationalise, whine and/or make excuses. Rafa is in a different position as he has only really had Fed to contend with in a way, as he was either chasing his records/ranking or he was ruling and still saying Fed is the best. Now he has to look at things from a different perspective so he is bound to react differently. We have seen a different side of Rafa this year I think. On and off court. Maybe it also has to do with him gorwing up, maturing, and becoming more independent. And, since becoming number one, Nole has taken hits in the press and beyond too, but that is the way it is. McEnroa said he picks Nole to win AO but won’t be surprised if he retires. Necombe says Nole will fall hard. Another one of the Aussies said to the press that Nole should “act more like Federer and Rafa” and tone down his celebrations etc. It is just normal I guess that the top guys, and the number one, take flack and are compared to one another. Poor Murray gets loads of crap, constantly from the press. Mac says he needs to lose the negativity, someone else says he needs a coach. And so on. I hope these guys don’t read the press!!!

Madmax, thank you for your post. That was the way I was feeling about your replay, I don’t say and I don’t believe it was your intention. Thanks for all those links. I am and I was and I will be a person who speaks his mind, that is why I ended up in Australia, what wasn’t bad anyway because this is blessed country in so many ways, though Serbia is where my heart is and that how is going to be until day I close my eyes and move to next life. So it is natural that my first pik is and will be Serbian player, but I am traying always to be objective as much as one fan can be.
I am tennis fan , big one, I make up my mind by watching, listening comenntators, reading other people posts, once I made it , it is mine and take a hell of lot of arguments and facts to change it. I didn’t play tennis, it was uper class sport ( yes , eastern Europe had its own upper class) or the peple with lot of money ( yes , Eastern Europe had a people with fair bit of money) nor I was involved in Tennis in any way but I
was sport person what makes easier to figure out the things
on tennis courts.

Laver as well as Newcombe has backed Federer to win the AO. Brave men.
“or he [Nadal] was ruling and still saying Fed is the best”. It’s easy to say someone else is the best when you know and everyone else knows that you are the best – as Nadal undoubtedly was for a time. Sounds good, too. Right now, Nadal is not the best, and his tone is much more uncertain, more equivocal. I wouldn’t call it growing up, just a natural response to more worrying circumstances. Expect the tone to change back should he regain the #1 spot.

Madmax, thank you for your post. That was the way I was feeling about your replay, I don’t say and I don’t believe it was your intention. Thanks for all those links. I am and I was and I will be a person who speaks his mind, that is why I ended up in Australia, what wasn’t bad anyway because this is blessed country in so many ways, though Serbia is where my heart is and that how is going to be until day I close my eyes and move to next life. So it is natural that my first pik is and will be Serbian player, but I am traying always to be objective as much as one fan can be.
I am tennis fan , big one, I make up my mind by watching, listening comenntators, reading other people posts, once I made it , it is mine and take a hell of lot of arguments and facts to change it. I didn’t play tennis, it was uper class sport ( yes , eastern Europe had its own upper class) or the peple with lot of money ( yes , Eastern Europe had a people with fair bit of money) nor I was involved in Tennis in any way but
I was sport person what makes easier to figure out the things
on tennis courts. I am really sorry that those slack a## pruducers from Belgrade TV station didn’t subtitle Nole’s and Jelena’s ( his first coach ) meeting becouse you would be able to hear somethig like this:
Jelene: ” when you pick the shot for return ( on Federer’s match point), you pick the hardest one…”
Nole: ” What do you mean, didn’t we practise that one, day in day out..,,”
Jelena: ” I know, I know but on match piont ?…”
I wouldnt say close his eyes literary, he read serve, he had ball on raquet, he CHOSE lower percentage shot,” desperate times need desperate measures”. So , it wasn’t fluke , it wasn’t slaping the ball( as it was said by Federer, if I am correct), it was conscious shot by Nole in given situation.
I can compare with something that I am more familiar with.We have few seconds left in basketball game and only thing tha can save us is three points, what are we doing?
We are trying to work best possible position for three point shooter to give him best chance to get us over the line, something that every basketball team is practising on training, same as Novak does with his coach.
I don’t have time any more, I have to start to prepare food for St. Nicholas day , which is tomorrow, it is family Saint or “SLAVA” and I will have guests for next two days going through my house and that requires lots of food and drinks.
If there is any people of Serbian backround on this forum, who are celebrating St. Nicholas day I wish them…..
…SRECNA SLAVA
My doughter is asleep, so there is no spelling check this time, you have to accept this post as it is, I am not looking for exuses madmax :-)

Thank you madmax,
Merry Christmas to you and enjoy holiday season, so we can come back fresh and relaxed in New Year and watch our boys playing even better tennis.
Thank you for the link, i owe you one for this one.